administration. he's got an economic model. >> so right at this moment, its 49.5% of the two-party vote for obama. >> reporter: so the polls and models call it a toss-up. but curiously, the betting public tells a very different story. online betting prediction markets, like ireland's intrade, which takes bets from americans, and england's betfair, which doesnt, have made obama the strong favorite for months. the lone domestic and entirely legal betting haven, the iowa electronic markets at the university of iowa. ever frugal, we asked hari srinivasan, our man in the midwest-- at least last week-- to drop in. >> sreenivasan: this is the entire iowa electronic market? >> this is our server room right here. >> sreenivasan: so the entire prediction markets right here? >> in that little box. >> reporter: granted, a visual letdown but this is what electronic betting looks like everywhere. in iowa, a machine through which 1600 people are constantly betting, with a $500 limit per punter. the odds on iem, according to its proprietor, joyce berg? >> right now, the markets are favoring obama. if you look at